With the fall semester coming to an end, the University Dance Theatre’s Fall Concert is on the horizon.
This captivating recital performed by the students of the Old Dominion University Dance Program will include three ensemble pieces, a new work choreographed by a guest artist, an intimate duet and a dance film.
This semester’s choreographers include special guest artist Alfonso Cervera, along with ODU Dance faculty James Morrow, Lauren Sinclair, Janelle Spruill and Victoria Fink.
I had the chance to speak with Victoria Fink on her featured piece, “Fervent Wind,” which she describes as an “evocative dance piece that explores the multifaceted roles of women during the Great Western Migration.”
“I picture images in my mind that I want to create. And then from there, I go into the movement, and create phrases, motifs and gestures that I find are kind of helping me build the landscape. And then, once I get started on the dancers, I start to develop, ‘What is this really about?’” Victoria recalls about her process in coming up with the inspiration for her piece.
The piece aims to explore the different tropes that women during this era experienced.
“It’s kind of a juxtaposition between that sort of two roles between power and femininity,” Victoria said.
The dances in the show aspire to tell a story through movement. Guest artist Alfonso Cervera’s piece, “Los 43,” represents the true story of the forty-three male students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College who were abducted in Mexico on Sept. 26, 2014. ODU Dance faculty member Lauren Sinclair’s piece, “Perspective,” is a contemporary ballet piece that follows a dancer’s experience from auditioning for a show all the way to the final performance.
The choreographers and the student performers have been working tirelessly since the beginning of the semester to perfect this highly-anticipated show.
The University Dance Theatre’s Fall Concert will run Nov. 20-22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for ODU students and $20 for general admission.
